pentagon acquisition reform

Some lawmakers are warning that budget cuts, a troop drawdown and a decade and a half of wars have created spotty combat readiness, overburdened forces, more fatal accidents and beat-up weapons. – Washington TimesAn Air Force official downplayed reports that the service is facing a shortage of missiles and bombs as a result of the air campaign against the Islamic State. – Defense TechAs Marines buckle down for another decade with limited amphibious ships and high operational demand, planners are taking a look at re-purposing some ship classes and reconfiguring others in order to bridge the demand gap. – Military.comThese defective parts, each probably valued on the order of $10,000 or less, have kept the $2.7 billion attack submarine Minnesota languishing in an overhaul for two years, while engineers attempt to cut out and replace a difficult to reach part near the nuclear reactor. Meanwhile, Navy engineers are scouring aircraft carriers and other submarines for problems and criminal investigators are gathering evidence. – Defense News

The F-35 will not get its full combat capability package until late fall of 2017, a delay of about four months from the original plan, according to a top general. – Defense NewsThe Pentagon’s most recent estimate for the F-35 joint strike fighter’s total acquisition cost shows a drop of $12.1 billion since 2014, according to a government watchdog. – Defense NewsThe Navy’s top acquisition official told a key congressional panel Wednesday that “Marines absolutely love this aircraft” and expect to be fielding a new squadron of F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters in June. – USNI NewsMackenzie Eaglen writes: While the F-35 program seems to have achieved a comfortable cruising altitude recently, the program faces heightened domestic and international uncertainty in the coming years. The next administration will confront continued budget handcuffs, an ever-rising nuclear recapitalization bill, and a tri-service deferred modernization bow wave. Each of these challenges will demand significant resources be reallocated under the defense topline to an extent thus far avoided since the Budget Control Act was passed in 2011—putting at risk current JSF procurement plans. – Real Clear Defense

The Air Force F-35 is using “open air” ranges and computer simulation to practice combat missions against the best Chinese and Russian-made air-defense technologies – as a way to prepare to enemy threats anticipated in the mid-2020s and beyond. – Scout WarriorUnited Technologies Corp.’s performance building engines for the F-35 fighter has been beset by “recurring manufacturing quality issues,” according to the Defense Department’s annual report on its costliest weapons program. - BloombergThe Navy has increased its projected annual use of the F-35C Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter, adding in 60 hours per plane per year as the service refines its training plans. – USNI NewsWith the rise of high-tech threats from Russia and China, the Marine Corps plans a major increase in its forces devoted to jamming, hacking, and deceiving enemies. – Breaking Defense

Funding the F35 Means Killing Close-Air-Support A10 WarthogThe U.S. Air Force says it's starting to draw up requirements for a dedicated close air support aircraft to replace the A-10 Warthog, which the service is retiring in order to free up funds for the F-35. The Air Force’s Lt. Gen. Mike Holmes told reporters said that a draft of the requirements will work its way through the Air Force bureaucracy this spring and then be included in "the larger study we’re doing on the future of the combat air forces." Potential A-10 replacements include the A-29 Super Tucano, the AT-6 trainer, the AirLand Scorpion, or an aircraft based on the T-X trainer.

Anti-missile Systems on F22, F35The Air Force is mulling a new missile to protect American fighter jets against the latest crop of Russian and Chinese air-to-air weapons. Flight Global reports that Lockheed Martin has been talking up its Small Advanced Capabilities Missile, or, SACM concept. The SACM would protect jets like the F-22 and F-35 by seeking out and destroying incoming PL-12 and Vympel RVV-BD air-to-air missiles, made by China and Russia, respectively. Lockheed says it could produce the defensive missiles in a year and a half to two and a half years, if given the go-ahead by the Air Force.

[T]he US Army, the largest armed service, has few EW sensors, no long-range jammers, and no funded plan to field them before 2023. While Army leaders now acknowledge the importance of EW, and units are training harder on how to operate when the enemy is jamming them, the service is investing very little in fighting back. – Breaking Defense

Thomas Karako writes: The recently released $7.5 billion FY17 budget request for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) represents an $822 million reduction from last year’s enacted budget. These cuts are essentially divided between procurement ($501 million) and research and development ($322 million) as compared to the $8.3 billion MDA budget enacted by Congress for FY16. While cutbacks to procurement more obviously reduce capacity available to the war fighter, the squeeze on research and development reflects a larger but insufficiently appreciated trend that could impair the ability to outpace foreign missile threats. – Center for Strategic and International Studies

Good News:LTG David Deptula, USAF (Ret.) and Doug Birkey write: lities regarding the two different phases of the procurement—development and production. While we all want pricing and schedule stability, history is full of examples that demonstrate it takes more than having the phrase “fixed price” in a contract to deliver such results. Defense Undersecretary Kendall had it right. We need to focus on pragmatic program execution—not contractual semantics. The B-21 program as currently structured already reflects these realities. – Breaking Defense

A group of lawmakers is looking at Navy base infrastructure and facilities maintenance as a readiness issue this year, after years and years of military construction (MILCON) funding being sacrificed as a bill-payer to support high operational tempos and rising acquisition costs. – USNI News

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that he'd have "grave concerns about the readiness of our force" in a major conventional throwdown with a country like China, Russia, Iran or North Korea. Milley told the lawmakers that the past decade or so of focus on wars like Iraq and Afghanistan have prepared the service well for combat in counterinsurgencies and small wars, but at the expense of preparedness against larger conventional adversaries.

The Army must do “everything we possibly can” to maintain an all-volunteer force amid deep budget cuts and growing demands around the world, the service’s top civilian leader said Thursday. – Defense NewsThe Army is putting the finishing touches on its robotics and autonomous systems strategy, according to the director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center. – Defense NewsAfter two decades of largely ignoring the danger, the US Army has started seriously training for a scary scenario: What if our GPS, our satellite communications, our wireless networks suddenly go down? – Breaking DefenseInterview: Sullivan, a former Army chief of staff who will be succeeded by retired Gen. Carter Ham, took time out Wednesday from the AUSA Global Force Symposium and Exposition to talk to Army Times about his decision to leave the association, his concerns about the state of the Army, and his plans for the future. – Defense News

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley sounded the alarm that the US Army is currently in a state of “high risk” when it comes to being ready enough to defend the nation and respond to a large conflict. – Defense NewsThe U.S. Army's chief of staff told lawmakers Thursday that the service would need another 220,000 soldiers before it could confidently handle major operations with emerging military foes around the world. – Military.comThe Army's report on which National Commission on the Future of the Army recommendations it plans to implement and which ones it plans to reject is expected to hit the defense secretary's desk next week, the Army chief of staff said. – Defense NewsThe Army’s official futurist may have overstated the case when he said “we are outranged and outgunned by many potential adversaries,” the service’s chief of staff said this morning — but not by much. To make things worse, Gen. Mark Milley told the Senate, we have become dependent on huge headquarters with lots of highly detectable electronics that make them “nothing but a big target.” –Breaking Defense

Russia and China may be giving the U.S. a run for its money in the military modernization race, but the head of Lockheed Martin's famed Skunk Works is still pretty confident in America's edge in fifth generation fighter jets. Skunk Works has been home to some of the world's most innovative -- and classified -- development of military aviation projects, like the iconic SR-71 Blackbird and the F-117, America's first stealth fighter jet. Rob Weiss, Lockheed's Skunk Works boss, tells Defense One that the U.S. F-22 and F-35 have little to sweat from rivals and that the U.S. may not need to replace them for another 30 years. Rivals have nonetheless tried to catch up to America's lead in fifth generation jets, with China working hard on the Chengdu J-20 and Russia developing the Sukhoi PAK-FA.

Senior Army officials are painting a pretty dire portrait of the state of the service, fretting over decreasing end strength, improving enemy weapons, and a declining budget, National Defense magazine reports. Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, deputy commanding general of Army Training and Doctrine Command, worried Tuesday that the Army may be "outnumbered" in future conflicts, adding that its vehicles are insufficiently armored relative to enemy capabilities. Officials said "disruptive capabilities" were key to turning around the Army's fortunes, citing robotics, cyber capabilities, and electronic warfare technologies, among others, as particularly important.

Army Materiel Command would like to start stashing gear around the world. Just in case. The command's boss Gen. Dennis Via, says he wants to pre-position eight activity sets in places like Europe, Asia, and Africa, with each set designed to support a particular combatant command. Via also noted other initiatives currently underway, including an effort to lighten the gear soldiers carry by doing away with extra batteries and letting soldiers' by body heat charge devices instead.

Top service officials reasserted the spectre of sequestration as the greatest threat to force readiness in coming years, saying even a hint of fiscal uncertainty can undermine training and strategic planning far into the future. – Military TimesIf the Marines were called today to respond to an unexpected crisis, they might not be ready, a top Marine general told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. – Stars and StripesThe Army is too small and could be outgunned in future conflicts, service officials said March 15. – National DefenseHouse Armed Services Chairman Mac Thornberry said Tuesday he would vote for the House Budget Committee spending blueprint unveiled Tuesday even though it gambles on the next administration boosting defense via emergency funding. – Defense NewsHouse Armed Services Chairman Mac Thornberry unveiled draft legislation on Tuesday aimed at speeding weapons development and streamlining the Pentagon acquisitions bureaucracy. – Defense NewsThe acting Army acquisition chief is looking at how to reset and rebuild acquisition using a smaller work force with more to do. – Defense NewsPentagon officials said Tuesday that the sweeping changes proposed under the "Force of the Future" military personnel reforms would go forward and even be expanded despite the surprise resignation of the plan's "architect." – Military.comCan China’s and Russia’s new fifth-generation warplanes and surface-to-air missiles threaten the American military’s dominance of the skies? Not yet, says one man whose job it is to make sure that remains the case for decades to come. – Defense OneThe US Army is honing in on ways to increase armor capability and capacity as deployments for armored brigade combat teams are expected to increase, according to the director of the Army’s Capability Integration Center. – Defense NewsAnticipated savings within the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program could allow the US Army to field its Humvee replacement earlier and quicker, the Army’s program executive officer for combat support and combat service support said. – Defense NewsAs the Pentagon telegraphs a new sense of urgency to fielding hypersonic weapons, top Lockheed Martin officials are touting recent breakthroughs in leveraging extreme speed to counter emerging threats. – Defense NewsJust how the most comprehensive reform law covering the federal government’s largest department needs to be overhauled should start with eliminating the unintended duplication that the Goldwater-Nichols Act created 30 years ago. But where other changes should be made is subject to sharp debate on Capitol Hill, inside the Pentagon and at think-tanks all over Washington. – USNI NewsJohn Hamre writes: Putting the chairman in the chain of command and creating an American version of a general staff would have astounding political implications, and none of them are good. – Defense One

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Tx.) has proposed a new bill dubbed the Acquisition Agility Act in order to streamline the acquisition process for the Defense Department, the Hill reports. With the estimated 10 years it takes to field weapons systems, the goal is to speed up the weapons delivery pipeline and keep up with changes in technology. The bill divides acquisition into platforms and components, encouraging open platforms that allow for add-on components and aiming to field the former before the latter. Thornberry hopes to to attach the bill to this year's Defense Authorization Act.

The Navy successfully launched the Raytheon SeaRAM Anti-Ship Missile Defense System from an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer for the first time ever on March 4, a final step in rapidly fielding a self-defense capability on the Mediterranean-based USS Porter (DDG-78) through an unconventional acquisition process. – USNI NewsThe Senate’s top military personnel lawmaker blasted next year’s service member pay raise and the proposed changes to military retirement as “shortchanging” troops instead of rewarding their sacrifice. – Military TimesA controversial proposal that aims to end the military's "up-or-out" rules for officer promotions remains a source of debate and disagreement among the Pentagon’s top leaders. – Military TimesA federal labor union is balking at the Defense Department’s approach to implementing a new performance rating system for civilian employees, although union officials insist they support the program overall. – Defense NewsThe Army has asked Congress to let it spend another $27.2 million to keep the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor (JLENS) system's three-year operational exercise on track. – Defense News

As the chairmen of the US House and Senate Armed Services committees plan to legislate potentially sweeping reforms at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Ash Carter is leaning in with proposals due in “just a few weeks’ time,” he said Friday. – Defense NewsIn a $7.2 billion wish list of items the Air Force will submit to Congress, the service is asking for funds to restore the five F-35 joint strike fighters and eight C-130J transport planes it was forced to cut in its latest budget request. – Defense NewsThe Navy and Marine Corps are both asking for additional F-35 Joint Strike Fighters in unfunded priority lists sent to Congress, according to documents obtained by Military.com. – Military.com

The U.S. Navy will soon deploy a new air-launched, precision-guided weapon that features a two-way data-link to identify and destroy moving targets at sea, giving fighters such as the F/A-18 Super Hornet a vastly improved attack envelope against a wider range of threats. – DOD BuzzJustin Johnson writes: In an increasingly dangerous world, meeting that constitutional responsibility is paramount. National weakness invites aggression. Our weakened military condition—coupled with our withdrawal from critical regions around the world—has emboldened our competitors to exploit situations that should never have been allowed to develop in the first place. Congress should pass a budget that not only meets our fiscal challenges head-on but strengthens our nation at a time of spreading instability. It can be done. – Real Clear Defense

The often forgotten art of electronic warfare is making a comeback and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is looking to use artificial intelligence in order to make it smarter. DARPA director Dr. Arati Prabhakar testified before Congress last week that the big brains in his shop are hoping artificial intelligence can help jamming equipment on aircraft learn and adapt in real time to new radar frequencies aimed at them and develop new jamming profiles in order to counter the systems. Right now, jammers only function based off a static database of profiles pre-loaded onto jamming equipment.